Põlva County
Põlva County (Estonian: Põlva maakond), or Põlvamaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in south-eastern part of the country and borders Tartu, Valga and Võru counties. The county also shares a common border with Pskov Oblast of Russia. Long sections of the border with neighboring Russia have not yet been ratified by treaty, and certain villages in Põlva County (e.g., Lutepää and Saatse) can only be reached by driving through Russian-controlled territory. 27,028 people live in Põlva County – constituting 2.3% of the total population in Estonia (as of January 2013).
Government
The County Government (Estonian: Maavalitsus) is led by Governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2007, the Governor position is held by Priit Sibul.
Municipalities
The county is subdivided into municipalities. There are 13 rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad - parishes) in Põlva County.
Rural municipalities:
Põlva
Põlva (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈpɤlˑˈʋɑ]) is a town in southeastern Estonia, it's the capital of Põlva County and the centre of Põlva Parish.
Põlva is home for the Intsikurmu Song Festival Grounds, which regularly hosts concerts and summer activities, situated in a small forested area on the west side of the town.
History
The first mention of Põlva as a settlement dates from 1452, in the 13th century. The name originates from the Estonian word for knee (põlv), although its origin is not entirely clear. Legend has it that a girl was immured in a kneeling position in St. Mary's Church to keep the devil away. This is reputedly how the town was named.
Põlva was an old military crossroad between the north and south of Livonia. Around 1240, shortly after the Christianization of Estonia, the Bernardine monks built a church order, which they dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The village church was subordinate to the Bishopric of Dorpat. The same parish was the result of the Livonian War under Russian domination in the 16th century. In 1582 it became part of Dorpat Voivodeship under Polish sovereignty, and later it belonged to Sweden. In 1721, in the Treaty of Nystad, Estonia and Livonia were then ceded to Russia. Then Põlva and its church parish belonged first to Tartu County and from 1783 to newly established Võru County, part of the Governorate of Livonia.
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